The Sims 4 delayed until autumn 2014

The Sims 4 has been delayed from an early 2014 release to autumn next year worldwide on PC and Mac, EA has announced.

The publisher also announced that pre-orders on The Sims' official site will get a free upgrade to the Limited Edition, which comes with the Life of the Party digital content. There's also an Origin-exclusive Digital Deluxe version that comes with the same add-on and some other, unannounced content.

"The Sims franchise has the best fans in the world and their passion and enthusiasm is at an all-time high," said VP and general manager of The Sims Studio, Rachel Franklin. "Those millions of voices will fuel our development process, helping The Sims 4 to be the most ambitious and the best game our studio has ever made. We can't wait to see our fans reaction when The Sims 4 comes out in fall 2014."